Chapter 515 — Lu Li of the Ghost Capital
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
His birth hour and the eight characters of his fate, and the shape of the jade pendant—I have drawn them all.
He was born on the eighth day of the twelfth month, in the year of Jiazi, the month of Chou, the hour of Zi. " A drawing came flying toward him; suddenly the octopus monster upon Xing'an's back tore itself free and flew up, vanishing silently into the darkness.
And at that moment the human limbs upon Xing'an's body began at once to rot and fall apart; heads, hands, feet, torsos dropped away in droves. Xing'an was shaken to the core; feeling his body belonged to him again, he hastily caught hold of the drawing. Lu Li's voice sounded at his ear: "When you find this child, you may kill him, or you may take him alive, but on no account may you let his soul scatter.
I need you to deliver his soul to the Nether Capital whole and unharmed! If so much as a single hair of it is missing, you will die a death of unspeakable misery!
" As the word "misery" fell, limbs burst out all over Xing'an's body again with a bang-bang-bang. Lu Li's chuckling laughter drifted to and fro around him; Xing'an's body returned to normal, and cold sweat broke out upon his forehead. "I give you a mirror. When you find him, you may use this mirror to confirm his identity.
" A mirror suddenly appeared out of the darkness and drifted down into Xing'an's hand. Lu Li's voice laughed: "This mirror can reveal his identity. But you must not hold it to him from the front—do you understand? " "Not from the front?
" Xing'an was taken aback, puzzled by the meaning.
"Correct. You must stand with your back to him, and then observe him in the mirror!
" Lu Li's tone turned suddenly severe. "Remember: when you face him, on no account use this mirror upon him!
Only with your back to him! " "I understand," Xing'an said. "You need not repeat it so many times.
A trifling matter.
.
. " "This is no trifling matter!
" Lu Li's voice laughed coldly: "If you hold the mirror to him from the front, you will bring down great trouble—very great trouble!
I can extend your life by thirty years.
You have thirty years to accomplish this for me. You may go! " "Wait!
" A smile appeared on Xing'an's face.
"We have not yet met face to face," he said leisurely. "This mirror can reveal that person—surely it can reveal you as well? " He turned the mirror around and aimed it behind him.
"You—" He stared blankly at the mirror's surface, and the mirror showed a woman of peerless beauty.
Lu Li's voice was plainly a man's voice, and yet what the mirror revealed was a woman! The beauty flicked a finger, and Xing'an's world spun; it was as if he had fallen into a great whirlpool. When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on a long slab of stone beneath an ancient pine, as though he had fallen asleep and spent the night in the open.
Around him birds sang and flowers gave off fragrance; beside him a spring leapt and a waterfall poured down. Several monkeys were darting through the mountain woods; now and then they stopped, broke a few bananas off the trees, peeled them, and ate with relish, watching him warily all the while they ate. Xing'an was dazed for a moment and looked around.
Where were the cliffs of the Waste now? Before him stretched a vast ocean! "What place is this?
" he could not help asking, full of doubt. "This is the Southern Sea," said the monkey, tossing away a banana peel that struck him on the head.
"The Southern Sea?
" Xing'an scrambled to his feet, his mind a blank.
He was now at the southernmost edge of the Waste, fully thirty or forty thousand li from the place where he had entered Fengdu!
"You are a strange beast of the Waste, and you can speak. It seems you are a rare breed, one that has awakened its spirit-intelligence.
" Xing'an peeled the banana skin off his head, flicked it away with a snap of his fingers, and said, "In consideration of your telling me where I am, I will not kill you—but a little suffering is unavoidable.